According to our data, this Beneful recipe provides complete & balanced nutrition for adult dogs and growing puppies. In other words, this formula is AAFCO approved.

Beneful Chopped Blends With Lamb, Brown Rice, Carrots, Tomatoes, and Spinach is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for adult dogs and growing puppies.

Ingredient Review

We'll begin this review of Beneful Chopped Blends With Lamb, Brown Rice, Carrots, Tomatoes, and Spinach with a detailed discussion of the ingredients.

The first ingredient is water sufficient for processing, which of course provides moisture.

The second ingredient is wheat gluten. Wheat gluten is the main protein of wheat. Although wheat gluten is mostly protein, wheat gluten is considered controversial because it significantly boosts the protein content of the product. This is undesirable because plant based protein does not provide the same amino acid profile as meat based protein.

The third ingredient is liver. Liver is a controversial ingredient because the source animal is not specified. Anonymous animal ingredients are typically very low quality and may contain almost any animal, including dogs and cats!

The fourth ingredient is lamb. Although lamb is an excellent protein source, raw lamb contains more than 60% moisture. After cooking, the relative meat contribution of lamb is dramatically reduced. Therefore, it's important to ensure that other meat sources are included within the first few ingredients to ensure the product derives most of its protein from meat.

The fifth ingredient is meat by-products. By-products are defined by AAFCO as the "non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals." Thus, meat by-products contain nearly all parts of the animal which are typically not consumed by humans. These parts include the liver, lung, spleen, kidney, stomach, blood, intestine, bone, etc.

This ingredient is marked controversial because the meat source is not identified. Anonymous ingredients such as meat by-products are typically very low quality additions. The most unpleasing property of this ingredient is that the animal source can contain any mammal, even dogs & cats.

Because ingredients are listed in order of pre-cooked weight, the remaining ingredients in Beneful Chopped Blends With Lamb, Brown Rice, Carrots, Tomatoes, and Spinach are not as important as the first five ingredients.

However, collectively they still have a significant impact on the overall quality of the product. Therefore, we'll continue discussing the remaining ingredients in this Beneful recipe.

Next we have brown rice. Brown rice is naturally rich in fiber and various minerals including manganese, phosphorus, and magnesium. Relative to other grains, brown rice is easy to digest.

The next ingredient is carrot, which are naturally rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidant.

Then we have tomato. Tomatoes are naturally rich in various vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber. You may have heard that tomatoes are toxic to dogs, but these claims are about the tomato plant, not the actual tomato.

Moving on, we have chicken, which is an excellent source of protein and fat.

Moving on with this review, we have modified corn starch. Modified corn starch is derived from the endosperm of the corn kernel. The modified term indicates that the corn starch has been treated or processed in order to expose or improve some property. Typically, corn starch is used as a binder in kibble.

The next ingredient in this review is spinach. Spinach is an edible flowering plant which supplies a notable amount of dietary fiber and plant based protein. It's also naturally rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, and folate.

Our next ingredient is tricalcium phosphate. Tricalcium phosphate is typically used for its mineral contents. However, it can also be used to evenly disperse fat in wet food products.

artificial flavor is the next ingredient in this recipe. Artificial flavor is an ingredient which improves the palatability of food. Unlike natural flavor, artificial flavor is not derived from a natural source. However, artificial flavors on a scientific level are indistinguishable from their natural counterparts.

Next on the list is natural flavor, which is likely included to improve palatability.

The next ingredient in this recipe is soybean flour. Soybean flour contains more than 50% protein. Therefore, soybean can significantly boost the protein content of the product.
The inclusion of non-meat protein typically degrades the overall quality of protein in the recipe. This degradation is due to the inferior amino acid profile of plant based proteins.

Next we have salt. Salt is an important mineral for both humans and dogs. Depending on the quantity of salt used (which we cannot determine), salt may or may not be a nutritious addition in the recipe.

The next ingredient is potassium chloride. Potassium chloride is a potassium supplement.

Then we have added color. The ingredient "added color" is ambiguous and may include various artificial dyes. Most artificial dyes have been linked to various chronic diseases.

The remaining ingredients in this Beneful Chopped Blends recipe are unlikely to affect the overall rating of the product.

Our analysis of the ingredients show that this product derives most of its protein from animal based sources. This is an excellent property because meat based protein contains all of the necessary amino acids required by dogs. In our option, this is one of the most important properties to judge when reviewing pet food, therefore we believe this is an exceptional product in this regard.

Final Thoughts

In summary, we recognize that this product contains artificial colors and anonymous meat ingredients.

Although the FDA has approved the artificial colors used in this product, they are unnecessary and unhealthy additions. Long term exposure can have serious consequences. See our article on artificial food dyes for more information.

In regards to the anonymous meat ingredients, These are not necessarily always negative; however, they are typically low quality and inexpensive additions. If the particular anonymous meat ingredient is controversial or low quality, it should have been discussed earlier in this review. Otherwise, it is safe to assume the anonymous meat ingredient is an acceptable addition.

The official PawDiet rating for Beneful Chopped Blends With Lamb, Brown Rice, Carrots, Tomatoes, and Spinach is 1.5 out of 5.